Four drug smugglers hanged in Iran
Updated: Sunday, November 08, 2009
17:18GMT—11:18AM/EST
Washington, 8 November (WashingtonTV)—Iran hanged four convicted drug smugglers in the southern province of Kerman, the Vatan-e Emrooz newspaper reported on Sunday.
The four men, identified only as Morteza Y., Akbar J., Mehdi B. and Alireza S., were executed on Saturday.
The latest hangings bring to at least 247 the number of people executed in Iran so far this year, according to an AFP count.
Amnesty International said that Iran executed at least 346 people last year, second only to China, although its population is 18 times smaller.
Murder, rape, drug trafficking, armed robbery, adultery and apostasy are among the crimes punishable by death in the Islamic Republic.
Sources: Vatan-e Emrooz newspaper, Agence France-Presse, Amnesty International website
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